The Shadow Dragon Rider Trilogy: Book 1: The Battl
by Balian311
Summary: Part 1 of "The Shadow Dragon Rider Trilogy" Ashley finds himself thrust into a world of magic and dragons and is put to the test in battle of life and death.
1. Urgals

**The Shadow Dragon Rider Chronicles**

**Book 1: The Battle of Doru Areaba**

**Chapter 1: Urgals**

I took a left. I ran down the ancient, sacred corridor and took a right. An ancient and mottled door stood before me. I opened it, the sound slightly tingling my spine. I stepped into the room, but it was not a room, but a stony balcony. I was in one of the ancient and powerful Dragon Towers, where Dragons Riders had rested in the old years. It's been twenty years after Eragon Shadeslayer Kingslayer had defeated Dark King Galbatorix and had reinstated the Dragon Riders. I looked over the stony balcony. From the tower I could see the near city of Daret. A city made of pine-log houses; it rested on top of the Ninor River. Daret was my home town, having been born and raised there. I heard a loud bang that sounded like it was not meant to happen. I drew my hand-and-a-half sword. The blade was plained metal and was straight, about 3 feet long, with a simple black cross guard. I watched the door, ajar and motionless; slightly glow in the dusk lighting. The corridor inside stood quiet until… Kaboom! The stoned doorway blew open and revealed twelve hideous urgals. The urgals represented men but had black, twisted horns and far stronger arms and legs. They were all armed with swords. The urgals charged at me. My heart skipped a beat. When they where upon me, I lifted my sword and stabbed one in his tattooed stomach. The hideous urgal rolled onto the floor, dead. I ran to the opened corridor, killing another two urgals on my way, and ran. After two minutes of chasing, two urgals were ahead of me on the antique corridor, running at me. I turned and saw two more urgals charging at me. I army-rolled underneath a pair of legs. I got up and stabbed two in the back and turned to face the other two. They were a good fifteen metres away. I drew my yew bow and nocked an arrow from my leather quiver. I drew the bow and released, killing an urgal instantly. The other one was too close. I slung my bow on my back and drew my sword. I parried with the urgal for about twenty seconds, then I side-stepped and banged him in the temple, blood oozing from his pasty head. I ran down the corridor again. After continuing through the maze of corridors, I found myself in a large room with an open wall on the opposite side. An unstable stairway spiralled to the top of the dragon tower. The last five urgals ran out of the hole in the wall and looked at me with a hungry glint in their eye. I drew my bow and nocked an arrow.

'What are you going to do, kill us all with arrows, you'll have killed only one of us and we'll be upon you," said an urgal. They all charged at me, swords drawn. I drew the arrow and released, not at the urgals, but at the stairway. The arrow hit its mark and some of the stairway fell, right onto the urgals, killing them all. I turned to leave when… "ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It was a kull, a gigantic urgal. It had come out of nowhere. It swinged its club and knocked me straight onto the stairway. I flew up the stony stairs. The stairs must have had a magic protection on them, because, not only was I flying up the stairs, but I was being chased by the gigantic kull, it's club with my name on it.


	2. Discovery

**Chapter 2: Discovery**

I ran up the ancient stairway, eager to get to the top where I might make it jump or something. I was so busy making plans as to how to kill the kull, I lost track of my feet and fell. My hands caught the edge, just. I felt my hands slip, my heart race and my skin crawl. Every fibre in my being was as sharp as the sword in my belt. A strange feeling crawled into my mind. The feeling overtook my nerves. I then back flipped. I flew high into the air. I felt weightless, free. It all ended suddenly. I landed in a crouched position, unsure of what had just happened. I came back to my senses just in time and dodged the kull's lethal club. I looked up and saw I only had another fifteen steps left. I climbed them swiftly and opened the ancient door. I was now

standing on a curved platform large enough for two middle sized dragons to comfortably fit on. It was desert orange and worn from use. I thought I saw a pair of orange eyes flicker in the shadows, but when I looked back they were gone. The kull smashed through the wall again. I had to look for an escape. The kull charged at me, swinging its club. I froze. I came to a second too late. The club came into contact with my left hand. I screamed and fell onto the wall. I looked to my right and saw even ridges in the wall. They went up about ten metres. I started too climb. Something else had drawn the kull's attention. What it was I did not care. I finished the ridge ladder and fell onto a platform. The top of the tower ended with a blunt platform (Which I was now on). The edges were all around covered with thin spikes that curved in all directions. In the centre of the platform was an unlocked chest. I opened it and saw the chest full of bones. I dug through with my right hand and saw a weaved bag. I opened it and saw a single item that would change my life forever. A black polished stone plopped out of the bag. Oval and about a foot long, the stone had thin gold veins running through it. I put the stone back in the bag and put the weaved bag in my backpack. Something then drew my attention back to the platform. An orange-clad figure was still duelling the kull. He had an orange curved blade sword and bore dark red hair. I then heard a terrifying roar. I looked east. A gigantic, orange dragon flew towards the Dragon Tower. The dragon picked up the kull in his mouth and ate him in three bites

_Mmm, tasty_, said something in my mind. The pieces then fitted. I was looking at a Dragon Rider. I stood up and I wove down the ancient ridges, still pondering on my discovery.


	3. Flight to Daret

**Chapter 3: Flight to Daret**

I landed swiftly on the hard ground, my left hand throbbing. The figure walked towards me and said, "I am Jurmgal, the last of the old order, rider of Golkah and wielder of the blade Tymunfl." "_Waise heill!_" Jurmgal said, pointing at my hand. My left hand healed instantly. "You have discovered upon a dragon egg," Jurmgal said.

"Sorry, what."

"A dragon egg. _Your _dragon egg."

"_My_ dragon egg? You mean, I'm a Dragon Rider."

"Not yet. When the egg hatches, you will become a Dragon Rider, and we will take you to Vroengard and train you in the skills of magic, art, sword fighting and all other things a Dragon Rider needs to know. Where do you live, Ashley?"

"Daret," I replied, curious as to how he new my name.

"Nice and close. What was your purpose here?"

"I had to get away from Daret for a couple of days."

"Why."

"My bully, a boy named Sam, left the village three days ago. Everyone thought it was me. So I left a note, packed the essentials and went off."

"I see. Well, let's get you home. _Golkah_," He ended in his mind.

_Yes._

_We need to fly to Daret._

_Alright. I'm coming._

"Golkah's my dragon," Jurmgal added to confirm my suspicion.

Golkah arrived within twenty seconds of him being called. Jurmgal placed a second saddle on Golkah.

"Ashley, Hop on."

"Fine," I said, with great reluctance. I hopped on. After Jurmgal and I were saddled on. Golkah lifted off the platform and flew towards Daret.

"Ashley. Do you want to hold Tymunfl?"

"Sure," I answered. Jurmgal passed back his sword and I look at it admiringly. It had a curved blade, desert orange, the same as Golkah's scales, while the cross guard was jet back. The handle was made of orange rock and an orange diamond rested in the pommel. I handed back the sword, careful not to cut myself or Jurmgal.

"I have something else for you to keep," said Jurmgal as he pulled out two things from his saddlebag. He handed me two books. The first: _Domia abr Wyrda_, was a book complete with Alagaesia's full history. And the second: _Shur'tugal klominu_, was a book full of teachings and wisdom of the Riders. I placed the two books in my backpack just as we landed. I jumped off Golkah and walked to the village. Numerous people, my Mum and Dad included, had come to see the dragon. Golkah took off into the sky, leaving me alone with the village of Daret


	4. Hatchling

**Chapter 4: Hatchling**

My popularity in Daret village had risen greatly over the next few days. All the girls wanted to be with me, while all the boys hung out with me. Life was pretty sweet. The egg had not hatched after a week of being in Daret.. I started to doubt I was its true rider. It was to be my 13th birthday in three weeks. The entire village was invited, and all were coming. My doubts about the egg continued until eleven days of the egg being in Daret. I was sitting in my room, finishing an essay of decimal addition when: _Crackle!_ "Mum!" I called out. My Mum, Dad and sister walked in to the room. The egg split open on the bed and revealed a tiny black dragon about twenty centimetres long. He fell off the bed and landed on his bum. He squeaked.

"Oh, how cute," said my sister as she ran up to him. She couldn't touch him. I leant forward and touched him on the nose. A bright flash illuminated the house. I looked at my palm. A black dragon symbol was there.

"Cool," I said.

The dragon went with me every where over the next ten days. To school, to the library to my friends place and even to bed with me. We developed a friendship so powerful, nothing could tear it. And as my birthday drew nearer, people started to like me more and more. Just before my party, Snips (His current name) came into the house from one of his walks. He had a huge scar on one of his legs and was he was crying.

_What should I do_, I thought. _What was that spell Jurmgal used on my hand? Oh yeah Waise heill._ "Waise heill," I said at his leg. It didn't work. After a few more tries I got the spell to work. The effort left me a little depleted, but it was worth it to see him smile. I grabbed my sword and let Snips hop on my shoulder as I went out the door to go to the party.

The party was in the main plaza of Daret about north-east of my house. Everyone was down there. I was greeted by hordes of people and congratulated on my birthday. Almost everyone patted Snips and tickled his throat. The Mayor then got up and said his speech; "Welcome friends, neighbours, dragons and mostly, Ashley. Well before we get started, I have a few words of caution to lay upon you all. The Black Knight has been searching for followers ever since his master died twenty years ago. He has enlisted the Urgals, the Ra'zac and some…Dragon Riders. The Bla—"

"Aren't the Ra'zac extinct?" asked a villager.

"No, they're not, just in Alagaesia. Anyway, as I was saying, The Black Knight's army is—"

"HERE!!!!" someone yelled out, and sure enough, a black dragon was riding towards us, followed by ra'zac mounted on lethrblaka and Dragon Riders.


	5. The Battle of Daret

**Chapter 5: The Battle of Daret**

The villagers screamed. The ra'zac landed and slaughtered people on foot, while the dragons burnt everything in their reach. The pub exploded and Snips was knocked off my shoulder. I ran to my house, ready to pack all my things, find Snips and run, until I saw something come from the north. Five dragons were flying towards Daret. The dragons collided into the evil dragons and attacked them. They bit, chomped and flamed them. Then something hit my mind that I will never forget.

_ASHLEY!!!!!!!!! Help me_. Snips. Just as I ran, a gold dragon with only three legs flew down and picked up my house. The dragon flew north and took my house with it. I ran through Daret, eager to find Snips. I took a right and saw a raz'ac. It raised its sword and swung down at me. I dodged and ran down the street, the smell of pine and water sifting through my nostrils. I turned left and saw Snips on top of an urgal. He was biting and chomping at the urgal's back. Snips won and killed the urgal.

He flew onto my shoulder and we ran, killing all urgals as we passed. Snips and I fled towards the pine entrance way of the ancient wooden city. A bolt of golden magic hit me in the chest. I flew back ten metres and landed in a heep in the middle of the seaweed carpeted street. Out of the wooden gateway came a figure. He wore yellow robes and bore a yellow hood. Underneath the gleaming yellow robes the figure bore shining armour plated with gold. He bore a golden mask that disguised his face, showing only yellow, pasty eyes that bore a dangerous expression. He was about three or four centimetres taller than me. He wielded a sword similar to mine, except his bent at an awkward angle about fifteen centimetres from the tip of the blade. Surprisingly, the sword seemed slightly familiar. The strangest thing about this character was that he had a yellow dragon on his shoulder. The dragon was slightly bigger than Snips. The Rider raised his sword. I parried it and swung my sword too his left. He parried the blow and slid his sword off mine. We parried for about ten minutes. We looked at each other, sweating and cursing. A figure clad in black jumped off a building and kicked the yellow character into the water below. He wore a red sword at his belt.

"I am Murtagh, a Dragon Rider and your new teacher. Come, we must fly too Vroengard."

"Wait, what about my family.

"They will be taken to Vroengard by other means, for now, we must get you to safety, _Thorn."_ He ended abruptly in his mind, just as Jurmgal had done earlier that month.

A gigantic red dragon flew towards them. Blood-red, the dragon had the last three feet of his tail cut off. And, just as I had done with Jurmgal and Golkah, I jumped onto Thorn and flew into the sky


	6. Dream Night

**Chapter 6: Dream Night**

Two days later, Thorn landed in Doru Areaba, capital of Vroengard, an island shaped like a hand situated to the north-west of Alagaesia. Doru Areaba was in a giant extinct volcano. The inside of the volcano had four general walls the housed many different facilities. The southern and eastern walls of the volcano had many enormous hollows that served well as dragon keeps. On the western wall of Doru Areaba was a golden gate which led to the underground training rooms, libraries, eldunari houses and all other Dragon Rider facilities. On the northern wall were ancient windows from the Rider's rooms where they slept, ate and sometimes sparred. All the rooms and houses and facilities where connected by tunnels large enough for ¾ size dragons too walk through. In the centre of the southern wall was a gold rimmed cave which led outside. On the outer southern wall was the other side of the gold rimmed tunnel. From that opening was the Bridge of Doru Areaba. The bridge was made up of several different bridges that confused enemies. After we landed in one of the dragon hollows, Murtagh gave me and Snips a tour of Doru Areaba. After the tour we retired to our rooms. I had a two room apartment. The first room had a shiny glass cage, two oak chairs, a matching table, an oak bookcase and a basin. The second one had an oak frame bed, a matching bedside table and a closet. I packed all my stuff that I had away, jumped into pyjamas that had been on my bed, and fell asleep within seconds…

_Three Riders, two male, one female are training_ _in a dusky room. They are all masters at their craft, what they are doing I'm not sure of…_

The dream changes…

_I'm facing a yellow dragon, five times bigger than the one in Daret. I am standing on top of a weird, stony castle made of orange stone and in half ruins. I have a weird sword in my hand, one that looks like it was made by the damned. The yellow dragon looks at me and opens its mouth and bursts out flames…_

The dream changes again…

_I'm in the Spine, looking upon the Vault Of Souls, The gateway to death, the void. I have the same weird sword in my hand. Out of the portal comes a shade. We parry, but he's too strong. He slices my face open, red blood spills every where. I feel a sharp pain in my stomach…_

I wake up in a pool of sweat. I feel my body. It doesn't seem burned. I checked my face and it didn't seemed scarred. I looked out the mottled window and saw the sunrise. I walked to the showers and had a wash, the steam sooting my body. When I came back I got dressed and saw a parchment letter on my table. It read:

_To Ashley,_

_Your first training session will be at 9:00 sharp. You will not be alone. My other student will also be there. Meet us in training room 43._

_Murtagh-elda_

_P.S Bring you sword and dragon._

I read the letter through twice, picked up my sword and went to the training rooms.

* * *


	7. A Plot Revealed

**Chapter 7: A Plot Revealed**

In the middle of the Hadarac Desert, Eragon, Jurmgal and Arya hid in the hot sand just behind some shrubs. The night had just settled and the mosquitoes were coming out. They lay so close to the ra'zac camp, it was a surprise they couldn't smell the three riders there.

"Where is the Varden," Arya whispered to Eragon.

"Awaiting our signal. Ssshhhh!"

Golkah, Saphira (Eragon's Dragon) and Greeni (Arya's Dragon) hovered motionless in the air about one kilometre away, above the Varden, ready to give signal when signalled. When Eragon saw the ra'zac retire to their tents, he whispered, "Ready?"

"_R_e_a_d_y_." Confirmed Jurmgal, Arya and the three dragons. The three dragons burst out flames of green, blue and orange. The Varden saw the signal and marched to the campsite.

The Varden reached the campsite and attacked. Arya swung her sword Tamerlein and charged at the ra'zac. The ra'zac were bewildered at the sudden appearance of two hundred and fifty men but they held their ground well.

Arya swung her sword left and right, up and down and killed about 30% of the ra'zac. Eragon walked over to the eastern end of the campsite and saw a master ra'zac. Eragon drew Brisingr and approached the master ra'zac. The two eyed each other off and then, in a flash were duelling. Eragon threw blows left and right, but the master ra'zac was too good. A thought then came to Eragon's head.

"BRISINGR!!!!!!!" He shouted. The blade of Brisingr burst into bright blue flames. The master ra'zac cowered.

"Pleassse don't hurt me Shur'tugal. I only meant good." Eragon stabbed the blade into the ra'zac's heart. He ended the spell and walked over to Arya and Jurmgal. The Varden was celebrating a victory when Arya showed Eragon a parchment, "Read this." It read:

_To Du Ra'zac-Elda,_

_I have information on the attack we organised some weeks ago on Doru Areaba. The battle will commence on harvest night. The battle plan is as follows:_

_Urgals: 4000 – 3000 urgals will sail on boats from Teirm (Already captured) following 10 Dragon Riders to Vroengard. When landed they will attack the city via the Bridge of Doru Areaba. 1000 ampp exxego hsvy eviefe zme Hy Aiphir Iphvzevce_

_Dragon Riders: 20 – 10 will guide boats of urgals to Doru Areaba. When the urgals land they will join in the battle. Other 10 will attack first through the hole in the top of Doru Areaba._

_Ra'zac: 150 – Ra'zac will fly on Lethrblaka and attack after Dragon Riders_

_Yours sincerely, _

_Lord Fornoth (The Black Knight)_

"Make it 100 ra'zac now," Eragon said as he finished the letter. "We better get back to Doru Areaba and help them defend the city."

"I agree," agreed Arya as she hopped on Greeni, "Jurmgal, you guide the Varden towards Doru Areaba, Okay."

"Yes Arya," Jurmgal said as husband and wife flew off into the dawn light.

* * *


	8. Preperations

**Chapter 8: Preparations**

I walked down the corridor. It took me a little while to find 43 but I did manage to find it before 9:00. I opened the door and saw Murtagh and a female rider. She had red hair tied in a ponytail, a beautiful face and wore a leaf-green tunic. She had a pink dragon on her shoulder and was talking to Murtagh.

"Ashley, this is Nellie Drottingu, daughter of Arya and Eragon. My other student and half-niece. And this is her dragon, Krisdle. Now let's get started.

"Nellie, Ashley. You two spar for ten minutes. Krisdle, Snips. You two race around the border of the room, Go." Nellie was a formidable opponent, calculating her moves and moving deadly fast. I still managed to beat her a couple of times.

"Where you from?" Nellie asked.

"Daret," I replied.

"Is it nice down there?" Nellie asked. I was about to answer when Eragon and Arya ran into the room. "Mum, Dad, what's wrong?"

"The Black Knight is invading Doru Areaba. Read this," Eragon commanded. In turn we each read the piece of parchment.

"We've got to prepare ourselves," I said with bravery in my heart.

"I agree," Nellie said.

"Tommorow, at dusk, The Black War will begin."

It took us a while to sort it out but our battle plan is as follows;

Dragon Riders 40 – Nellie, Murtagh and I will defend the bridge while the rest of the Dragon Riders defend the main city. Our dragons will defend the eggs. Jurmgal will lead the Varden into the battle but will join the battle after escorting the Varden safely.

Varden Warriors 400 – Attack from behind the urgals and try to destroy them before they reach Doru Areaba. When they reach the city, they will break up and defend the main parts of the city.

2 hours before dusk Murtagh, Nellie and I walked down to the bottom of the Bridge of Doru Areaba. Nellie was starting to sweat.

"You okay there?" I asked.

"I've—I'm fine thank you," She ended abruptly. I started laughing. I laughed so hard that I was on the floor and snot was coming out of my nose. "What's funny," She said with a suppressed laugh.

"You," I said. Our eyes met and for the first time it really struck me how beautiful she was. At the same time A horn blew in the distance.

"Here we go," Murtagh said as 10 Dragons flew towards us about 1 kilometer away, followed by an army 10 times the size of the one at its close rear. The Battle of Doru Areaba had begun.


	9. The Battle of Doru Areaba

**Chapter 9: The Battle of Doru Areaba **

The first urgals trudged up the hill about 10 minutes after we saw them arrive. I drew my sword but there was something different about it. The blade had seemingly gotten shorter. It still was three feet, but it didn't look the part. I noticed the urgals just in time and stabbed one directly in the stomach. He tripped over and lay there, dead. I continued fighting urgals with Murtagh and Nellie for ages. I had killed about 10 when I heard a roar. Golkah and Jurmgal were flying towards us, Tymunfl raised and glowing. Below him some 400 warriors were running towards the urgal army. I stood my ground and soon we were joined by the army of the Varden. With them at the end of the bridge, the bridge seemed relatively secure. Secure enough for us to run and greet Jurmgal and help the other Dragon Riders defend Doru Areaba. We ran for about 20 metres when… Poof! A yellow Dragon landed on the bridge directly behind us. We turned and saw the same yellow clad figure that had nearly killed me in Daret. The dragon then breathed in.

"SHIT!!!!!!" Murtagh yelled. The dragon exhaled and blew a massive blast of yellow fire that knocked me back a further 20 metres, Murtagh onto a cliff ridge almost underneath Doru Areaba and Nellie into the mist below, leaving me to face the yellow rider alone.

* * *

Murtagh landed on the cliff face. He got up and looked around. To his left and above, on another cliff ridge there was an ancient door which led up to the Volcano within. The only problem was getting there. He had to jump. He ran back as far as he could and leaped. He felt like he had been suspended for ages. When he landed, a loud crash made him fall. He only just managed to grab hold of the ledge when he realised he had jumped too far. Now the ridge with the door was, once again on his left hand side. He had a plan. He edged to his left as far as he could. It took him a little while but he managed. He then spun left and forward at the same time. He landed with a thump just in front of the doorway, which was now open. Slightly chilled, he went inside.

He walked around the maze of tunnels for about half an hour. He had passed a tunnel mull of steam but thought not to go down that road. He soon had to declare he was lost. He sat down… big mistake. A boulder the size of the tunnel came pelting towards him at rapid speed. He jumped up and ran away from the boulder as fast as he could. He continued to run until he met a T-Intersection. Left or right? His question was soon answered by a boulder, not only coming from behind, but from the right tunnel as well. "Take a left, take a left." He ran left and followed the path. At every T-Intersection a boulder would show him the correct way. Left, right, right, left, right. It continued on until He saw a flight of stairs with an exit at the bottom. He fled out the exit and the boulder jammed in the doorway. He was in a room with three other doors. Soon the door to his right blew open and Nellie ran into the room, her body covered in blood. She locked the door instantly. After about twenty minutes of silence and because the other two doors were locked, the left door finally smashed open and I ran in, looking like a tomato that had just escaped from a steamer.

* * *

Nellie fell into mist. She kept falling through mist. More mist and even more mist. She then landed lightly on the stony ground. She was in the valley that surrounded Doru Areaba. She walked forward several paces, lightly moving so as not to give away her position. In the distance, a faint explosion could be heard, its sound billowing against the warmth of harvest time. Nellie then bumped into a stone wall. After finding the exit, she walked through and faced an overwhelming sight. 1000 urgals were marching into the valley preparing to attack Doru Areaba from the east. The urgals, almost as though they were tipped off looked at her at the same time and attacked. "Shit," Nellie whispered as she charged at the army, outnumbered 1000 to 1. As soon as she reached the urgal army some 150 Varden warriors attacked the urgals on her side. They battled them for ages, blood spraying everywhere and death at every angle. By the end of the battle her tunic was covered in blood. They had stopped most of the urgals from attacking the eastern quarters. Urgals still remained, but She felt a psycic tug urge her up a flight of stairs behind a doorway. She flew up them and came to another doorway. She was hesitant. A large pounding came from behind. Nellie quickly opened and locked the door instantly. In the room there were two other doors and a hall way with a boulder blocking the exit. Murtagh was also in the room; he was extremely putrid and covered in dirt. The other two doors were locked from the inside and prevented all escape. After twenty minutes I came flying into the room, humid as an urgal in the summer.

* * *


	10. Histories revealed

**Chapter 10: Histories revealed**

He jumped off his dragon, swinging his sword violently. The Dragon flew off in an instant. We then eyed each other off, looking at my opponent. In a flash he attacked. I parried and sent a swing towards his left hip. He parried and our blades locked. He won this contest of strength and threw back my sword and scarred my face. I yelled in fury and attacked him. We attacked and parried for about 10 minutes on the Bridge, both equals to each other.

"You can't win Ashley Mooney."

"How do you know my name?"

"That's my business!" He yelled as he attacked me. I parried the blow and then saw the yellow dragon. It had a burning Hershma Tree in its grasp. When a Hershma Tree's root catch alight, a large explosion occurs that can kill 200 people. This one's roots weren't that far from the fire.

"You idiot!" I yelled as I saw the look in the yellow Dragon Rider's eyes. I took this moment of opportunity and kicked the mask off. Then three things happened at once. First, the Dragon Rider jumped back on his dragon. Second, The Hershma Tree was dropped onto bridge. And third, I saw the yellow Dragon Rider's face; it was Sam.

Sam and his dragon flew around to the back off Doru Areaba. I soon remembered the Hershma Tree. I ran past it as fast as I could and saw an escape. A door was visible. It was on ridge that was surrounded by other ridges to its below left and right. On the left I thought I saw a figure, but when I looked back he was gone. I made a jump and landed in front of the door I opened it and went inside. I was in a maze of tunnels underneath Doru Areaba. It didn't take me long to find an exit. When I opened the door a blast full of steam came out and filled the whole tunnel, obscuring the door from anyone who passes. The door way led to the back of Doru Areaba. I was now in the south end of a really small valley. From where I was there was a path that led into the centre of the valley. In the centre of the valley was a ten by ten metre wooden platform. The bottom of the valley was invisible cause of the stem rising. I knew that it was because of the lava and water mixing below. In the centre of the platform was Sam, totally aware I was there.

"What happened to you?" I said, curious over this predicament.

"Shall I explain. About two weeks before I disappeared, we went on that trip to the Ninor River, remember," I nodded," And then I found Scale's egg in the river and hid it for myself. The day before I disappeared, Scale hatched for me. And then the Black Knight took me away. Scale and I want to Farthen Dur with him where he is hiding. I was sent back to Daret to try to capture you. After the Battle of Daret. After that we plotted the attack on Doru Areaba. We then came and attacked and now I'm here, duelling… YOU!!!" He ended abruptly as he started to duel me. We continued to play the parrying game for a further ten minutes.

"It's not too late, leave The Black Knight and join the other Dragon Riders. We can and will help you." He just spat in my face.

" No Ashley. You don't realise I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!" I was then overtook by a feeling. Using the back off my sword, I knocked Sam onto one of the edges of the platform and then, without thinking, sliced his rigt arm off at the elbow. "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You bastard," Before I could react, Scale swooped in and picked up Sam and took him away.

I then ran through a door and saw Murtagh and Nellie, sitting in the room. The room had two other doors and a boulder blocking a passageway. A key appeared and opened the middle door and we all walked out. Murtagh covered in dirt and Nellie covered in blood.


	11. AfterBattle at the Finger of Vroengard

**Chapter 11: After-battle at the Finger of Vroengerd**

The Aftermath of the battle was pretty bad. The outcome was decisively in our favour. The rest of the urgals had retreated to the distant Finger of Vroengard, Vroengard's south-most point. It was our job to go, with our dragons to go to this spot. The bottom quarter of the finger was an old graveyard of Dragon Riders long gone. Urgals were behind every corner and attacked us viciously. We were confused as to how they knew we were coming but we kept our ground. At the tip of the Finger we were ambushed by half the surviving army of urgals. We continued this battle until we saw four dragons in a diamond shape fly towards us. They then flew into a square shape and continued. Then in quick succession. First a dragon came and took my sword right out of my hand and threw it away. Second, All the urgals fled into their boats and third, Shruiken (The name I finally settled on calling my Dragon), Thorn and Krisdle were all swooped up in a net and minimized. Now in the possession of The Black Knight.

_SHRUIKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! _ I screamed in my mind but no answer came. Then Murtagh's voice came beside me, "The Battle of Doru Areaba is over. The Black War has begun."

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**Ancient Language:**

Brisingr: Fire

Du Welden Eldrvarya – The Guarding Plains

**Urgal Language:**

1000 ampp exxego hsvy eviefe zme Hy Aiphir Iphvzevce – 1000 will attack Doru Areaba via Du Welden Eldrvarya

If you like what you read, please e-mail me at . If you don't like what you read, don't read the next book. After the trilogy is over, I will be writing more adventures about Ashley and Nellie. This time I will hold certain competitions for roles, story ideas etc.

_Ashley Mooney_

(I know I'm a dick for using my name in the story as the main character)


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